Hero5 Black and Hero5 Session join GoPro's rough n' ready lineup

Along with its much-anticipated Karma drone, GoPro today announced the latest step in the evolution of its Hero line of actioncams, namely the Hero5 Black and the Hero5 Session. The former is being lauded by the company as "the most powerful, easy-to-use GoPro, ever."

Unlike their predecessors, both cameras can be submerged to a depth of 33 ft (10 m) without an underwater housing. There's no word on whether or not there's an optional housing, that allows them to go deeper.

They also both shoot video at a maximum resolution of 4K/30fps. For ease of use, the cameras can be operated using a single button (pressing it powers them up and sets them recording), or even using voice control commands in seven languages.

They additionally feature electronic video stabilization, plus they automatically upload photos and video to the cloud while charging – if the user subscribes to the new GoPro Plus service, that is.

The bigger and more expensive of the two, the Hero5 Black additionally offers stereo audio recording with "advanced wind noise reduction," 12MP stills (as opposed to 10MP on the Session), and the ability to shoot those stills in either RAW or WDR modes. Unlike some other Hero models, it also has an integrated 2-inch LCD touchscreen for lining up shots, reviewing footage, adjusting settings and even editing video.

Other features of the Hero5 Black include manual exposure control and GPS, which notes where snapshots and video are recorded.
It will be available as of Oct. 2nd, priced at US$399.99.

If you're more interested in something with less bells and whistles but that's a lot more compact, the Hero5 Session will hit the market that same day, selling for $299.99.